38 Overview of Verb Forms

Regular Verb Forms

Verbs in English can change forms in five basic ways:

Verbs also can indicate actions or states of being in the past, present, or future using tenses. Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from the present to past tense. For example, to form a past-tense or past-participle verb form, add -ed or -d to the end of a verb. You can avoid mistakes by understanding this basic pattern.

Verb tense identifies the time of action described in a sentence. Verbs take different forms to indicate different tenses. Verb tenses indicate

• an action or state of being in the present,
• an action or state of being in the past,
• an action or state of being in the future.

Helping verbs, such as be and have, also work to create verb tenses, such as the future tense.

Present tense: Tim walks to the store. (singular subject)

Present tense: Sure and Kimmy walk to the store. (plural subject)

Past tense: Yesterday, they walked to the store for milk. (plural subject)

Future tense: Tomorrow, Kimmy will walk to the store to buy some bread. (singular subject)

Irregular Verb Forms

The past tense of irregular verbs is not formed using the patterns that regular verbs follow. Study the chart below which lists the most common irregular verbs.

The best way to learn irregular verbs is to memorize them. With the help of a classmate, create flashcards of irregular verbs and test yourselves until you master them.

Table of Irregular Verbs

Here we see the irregular verb in the past tense.

Present tense: Lauren keeps all her letters.

Past tense: Lauren kept all her letters.

Future tense: Lauren will keep all her letters.

Exercise 1

Gerunds

A gerund is a form of a verb that is used as a noun. All gerunds end in -ing. Since gerunds function as nouns, they occupy places in a sentence that a noun would, such as the subject, direct object, and object of a preposition.

You can use a gerund in the following ways:

As a subject

Traveling is Cynthia’s favourite pastime.

As a direct object

I enjoy jogging.

As an object of a proposition

The librarian scolded me for laughing.

Often verbs are followed by gerunds. Study for examples.

Table of Gerunds and Verbs

Infinitives

An infinitive is a form of a verb that comes after the word to and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

to + verb = infinitive

Examples of infinitives include the following: to move, to sleep, to look, to throw, to read, and to sneeze.

Often verbs are followed by infinitives.

Table of Infinitives and Verbs

You may wonder which verbs can be followed by gerunds and which verbs can be followed by infinitives. With the following verbs, you can use either a gerund or an infinitive.

Table of Infinitives and Gerund Verbs

Exercise 2

On your own sheet of paper, complete the following sentences by choosing the correct infinitive or gerund.

1. I meant (to kiss, kissing) my kids before they left for school.
2. The children hoped (to go, going) to a restaurant for dinner.
3. Do you intend (to eat, eating) the entire pie?
4. Crystal postponed (to get dressed, getting dressed) for the party.
5. When we finish (to play, playing) this game, we will go home.

Writing Application

Tell a family story. You likely have several family stories to choose from, but pick the one that you find most interesting to write about. Use as many details as you can in the telling. As you write and proofread, make sure your all your verbs are correct and the tenses are consistent.